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Sony Vaio PCG-FX601
The Sony Vaio PCG-FX601 (also known as the PCG-9E4M) was a mid-range laptop produced by Sony in 2002 as part of the Sony Vaio PCG-FX line. It used a 1.1 GHz version of the AMD Mobile Duron "Camaro" CPU, the VIA KT133A chipset, and came with ATI Rage Mobility M1 graphics. Typically for a Sony Vaio laptop, it has fairly distinctive styling and colouring, although it is definitely a lot more conservative than some of their efforts. Sony used the PCG-FX line for a variety of systems; some were based off Intel Celeron and Pentium III CPUs, and others used different variations of the Duron, or the Athlon XP-M CPUs. Performance and features Processor Unusually for an OEM machine, Sony fitted the PCG-FX601 with an AMD processor. In this case, all FX601s shipped new with a 1.1 GHz version of the Mobile Duron "Camaro" CPU. These CPUs were very capable budget chips that wiped the floor with their Intel Celeron rivals, and were often competitive with "Coppermine" Pentium IIIs. I believe that the CPUs were fitted in the Socket 462/A sockets, like their desktop equivalents. The Duron is more than capable of handling XP SP3, and is certainly more than capable of outperforming the PCG-FX601's GPU, of which more will be said below. In my experience, although the "Camaro" Duron does run warm, it is very rare for the CPU to exceed 65C. The laptop is thus fairly practical for usage on your lap, although some people may find it to be uncomfortably warm, particularly on warmer days. For comparison, a "Coppermine" Pentium III of a similar spec (1 GHz is as close as they got) would probably reach temperatures of 10-20C more than this. Self-monitored fan control In my opinion, Sony got this pretty much spot on. The fan kicks in at 50C, which is a perfectly sensible point for the fan to come on in my opinion, and it means that, by and large, the fan is on most of the time. It also ramps up slowly as the temperature rises, which is a more efficient and sensible way of doing things than the common "steps" in speed found in many fans of the time. SpeedFan cannot control the fan. Graphics The Vaio PCG-FX601, like most of the PCG-FX line, used ATI Rage Mobility M1 graphics, with 8MB of VRAM. Whilst this was a decent chip when it was released in 1999, particularly in laptop terms, by 2002 it was well out of date, and it really doesn't do the 1.1 GHz Duron justice. Contrary to what some reviews say, it is capable of 3D games, but you'll be restricted to games from 1999 or earlier; later games just need too much GPU power (and often need more VRAM). In Sony's defence, however, there really wasn't a true "mid-range" graphics card available at that point, as the GeForce 2 GO and Mobility Radeons of the time were high-end products for the most part, although a Mobility Radeon 7000 would've made a reasonable match. At least this laptop isn't in the situation of some of the higher-end PCG-FX laptops, which coupled high-end Athlon XP-M CPUs with the same GPU. Screen The Vaio PCG-FX601 came with one screen; a 14.1" TFT with a resolution of 1024x768. Whilst nothing special, it gets the job done, and is more than capable of running games at acceptable levels. It has no issue with screen scaling whatsoever, even when you're using generic VGA drivers in Windows 98, or are booting up an OS. Sound The Vaio PCG-FX601 used a variation of the Realtek AC97 chip, located in the VIA VT82C686B southbridge. Nothing particularly special about this; it behaves the same as any AC97 chip, pretty much. The speakers on the laptop are pretty good, despite being located on the power button panel. Chipset The Vaio PCG-FX601 used a VIA KT133A chipset. This was a fantastic chipset in its day; it delivered near-DDR performance using SDRAM. Indeed, today it looks even better when compared to its Intel 815 rival; not only will you be able to use 1GB of RAM in your Vaio PCG-FX601 should you so desire (even though the laptop only officially supports 512MB of RAM, I can confirm that it runs perfectly with 768MB of RAM, with a 512MB stick fitted), but you can operate PC133 RAM at the 133 MHz speed even with the 100 MHz FSB Duron CPU being present. These combine together to mean that a Vaio PCG-FX601 is a perfectly capable Windows XP SP3 machine, carrying on where most Pentium III systems (even those based on the "Tulatin" PIII-M, which should be quicker in theory) will chug. Power supply and battery The Vaio PCG-FX601 used a 19.5V, 3.0A charger. I can't comment on what these chargers were like, as I've been using a cheap stopgap charger for a while now (which is completely anaemic - I'm talking 6W an hour charge rates when the system is running, and it doesn't matter which battery is fitted). I have, however, ordered a slightly higher rated Vaio PCG-FX charger. Battery-wise, these laptops shipped with a 14.8V, 3000mAh battery, whilst Sony don't appear to have provided an estimated runtime in their specifications. Based on a review of the similar FX604 (identical bar a 15" screen and the fitment of a DVD/CD-RW drive in place of the DVD-ROM drive of the PCG-FX601), the battery life when new was about 2 hours. Replacement batteries tend to be 4400mAh batteries, which give a useful boost in capacity. They're probably about the middle of a laptop battery price range; about £28, and those batteries are of a good quality. Other noteworthy features As was typical for a Sony laptop of this time, the PCG-FX601 featured an S400 FireWire port. It also has two very solid feet underneath, meaning that you can angle the laptop like a regular keyboard if you so desire. The floppy drive could be replaced by a special battery module if you so desired. Operating system flexibility I'm not going to sugar coat it; Sony are hopeless when it comes to providing support for multiple operating systems. You have full driver support for Windows XP... and that's it. The only other driver they provide is a touchpad driver for Windows 2000. Yeah. With that being said, the hardware is incredibly common, and finding a usable ATI Rage Mobility M1 driver is easy - I generally use one from an IBM Thinkpad for Windows 98, although this isn't particularly up-to-date, so ToCA 2 won't run (for example) due to a lack of Z-Buffer support, whilst it starts up fine with the Sony (or original Microsoft) driver in XP. Audio drivers though... those are a PAIN to find for Windows 98 (ones that actually work at all, that is). However, there is one that I know works for the most part, although I've found Soundblaster emulation in older games to be patchy at best - it'll be in the helpful links section. Maintenance feasibility Ease of physically working on the system The Vaio PCG-FX601 isn't that hard to work on; it's just not thought out as well as, say, most Dells of the time period. Documentation, as is typical for a Sony product, is pants; it'll tell you the bare minimum, and nothing more. In my experience, the biggest issue comes with trying to line up the power button panel correctly so it can be screwed in, which is probably why most systems that have been taken apart are missing the screw that secures said panel. It's doable, but it's a faff. Otherwise, it should be noted that the hard drive is located under the keyboard (which is not exactly inspired), and the CMOS battery is a tiny button cell on a holder, desktop-style. Ease of getting parts/complete systems Whilst you may struggle to find a PCG-FX601 in particular (although I've owned two), finding a similar PCG-FX model to pilfer parts from is really not that hard. The parts are pretty easy to find on their own anyway, and generally aren't that expensive - although, again, they'll cost more than an equivalent Dell will. Just be aware that some parts from Intel CPU-based PCG-FXs may not fit the AMD-based ones, and vice versa (I would expect all of the structural components match; just some of the hardware won't). Durability/reliability I've owned one PCG-FX601 for a year, and although it has clearly had a huge amount of use in its life, it still runs fine. The trackpad is worn out and only works sporadically, and the screen is well past its best and has a stuck pixel, but the rest of the system seems very healthy indeed; the battery still held about 45 minutes worth of charge as well. The other one I have owned started out with a faulty screen cable, and then just quit working altogether; however, before that, everything on it worked, including the battery (albeit that was tempermental). Treat them with a bit of care, and they'll go on for ages - as is obvious from how many PCG-FX systems are still around, when you consider that they probably weren't massive sellers when new (compared to your Compaqs and Dells and the like). Given the issues that seem to plague a lot of the newer Vaios, and indeed those found in the other Vaio types I've dealt with, they may genuinely be the best laptop line Sony ever built. Quirks By and large, the Vaio PCG-FX601 is a pretty straightforward system. I have noticed that the USB performance of one of mine is absolutely hopeless (USB 1.0 levels at best, not USB 1.1 as it should be), but as the other one died before I could test them properly, I have no idea if mine is just a little worn-out, or if that is endemic to the species. The charging indicator appears to go off at about 91/92% battery, even if the charging rate doesn't slow down; just something to be aware of (well, that and an orange, flashing charging light is a good thing, not a bad thing!). If running off battery power, the light will stay on solidly as orange - which means you can't accidentally unplug it and be unable to tell from the indicator. When looking at the temperatures, you may notice that most of the sensors are stuck at 22-26C (this occurs on my laptop), so any software that just takes the first example of a given sensor (CPU for example) as the value it displays may not show an accurate temperature reading. SpeedFan, however, will let you see the real CPU temperature as well as the glitched ones. Rating I'm not going to lie; I'm massively fond of my Vaio PCG-FX601. It has its flaws, but if you're looking for a casual XP machine on a budget that's a little more left-field, or something that is fine with running old games, this will be a very neat little system. It doesn't get too hot, mine has been pretty reliable, and it's generally a decent little machine. If not for the AMD CPU, it would be pretty generic bar its styling - but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Good, mediocre, bad Good *1.1 GHz AMD Mobile Duron "Camaro" performs well and runs reasonably coolly. *Very sensible thermal management starts the fan at 50C and increases it incrementally as the temperature rises. *VIA KT133A chipset allows the Vaio PCG-FX601 to use 1GB of RAM (double the officially supported maximum), PC133 RAM at its top speed with a Duron CPU, and is also a very capable performer. *Parts are reasonably easy to obtain, due to the wide range of PCG-FX systems being made - care may be needed for certain parts though, as some systems used Intel CPUs. Mediocre *Terrible USB performance, if my system is representative of the breed. *Odd component placement choices, whilst some panels are a little tricky to fiddle with. *ATI Rage Mobility M1 GPU well out of date by 2002. Bad *Terrible documentation for anything beyond the simplest things - typical Sony failing. *Non-existent driver support for any OS that isn't Windows XP - again, another typical Sony failing. Reviews *ZDNet (of the FX604) Useful links *Official Sony page *Official Sony specifications *Instruction/operation manual *VIA AC97 audio driver that is compatible with the system and Windows 98